How to waste time…efficiently

As the centuries-old saying goes, time is money – and nobody wants to waste money. The way businesses allocate their time is vital to their innovation and growth, and there are only so many hours in a work day. Putting those hours towards something that will jumpstart your company could make or break your small business.

In a previous post by Concur, unproductive meetings were blamed for wasting more than $37 billion per year in the U.S. alone. On the same note, almost 20% of total time spent online in the U.S. is strictly on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, according to a Business Insider study. With unnecessary distractions wasting so much time in the workplace, it’s a good idea to use the time that’s left to its fullest extent. 

“Waste time” learning new techniques

That’s where digital technology comes in. Ben Rossi, in an article in Information Age, explains that small and midsized businesses who research, understand and implement digital technology experience more and faster growth than companies that fail to take the same steps. This digital transformation is so important that he considers it “essential to the company’s survival in the next three to five years.” 

Learn more: How to take travel and expense management into the digital era

The time it takes to ditch traditional practices and adopt digital technology is worth the effort – “between 53% and 60% of SMEs (small and midsized businesses) surveyed said new technology solutions have allowed them to begin or continue revising their workflow […] to streamline operations and improve productivity,” according to Rossi. Increasingly, that’s what an organization has to do to stay alive. A study by Accenture suggests that companies must now “leverage social, analytic and collaboration tools to effectively engage employees across all parts of the organization,” saving valuable time while still progressing towards their overall targets. Digital technology can update outdated systems that have become less effective, relieving the pain of employees who feel that “47% of outdated systems are too time-consuming". And remember, “time is money!”

Invest time now, reap results later

There is a smart way to use your precious resources on both sides of the time and money equation. Researching technology tools will pay off on your investment with efficiency, compliance and visibility. Concur offers an all-encompassing travel, expense, and invoice management solution that eases spend management – wasting no time at all in those eight hour work days. As David S. Rose from Forbes points out, investing a small amount of money and time into your business at its start can “pay large dividends later.” New expense management tools, like those offered by Concur, exist to simplify processes that at once seemed overwhelming to a business with a small employee base and an even smaller amount of time to waste. Investment in digital technology is an innovative way of leveraging a small business’s time, as opposed to sitting through meetings or scrolling through social media feeds. 

Waste time efficiently

Reflect on how you want to “waste time” efficiently and consider Concur for Small and Medium Businesses to automate travel and entertainment (T&E) expense reporting and vendor invoices to make your business operate better. And that’s not a waste of time at all.

Want to waste less time?  Take Concur for a test drive with our free trial and discover the best ways to apply your time.